NEWS RELEASE 10/22/09

FASB Establishes Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee

Norwalk, CT, October 22, 2009—The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today announced the establishment of the Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee (NAC). The NAC is intended to serve as a standing resource for the FASB in obtaining input from the not-for-profit sector on existing guidance, current and proposed technical agenda projects, and longer-term issues affecting those organizations.

This initiative further expands the FASB’s outreach to nonpublic entities in its standard- setting process. As with its advisory groups for small and private businesses (the Small Business Advisory Committee and the Private Company Financial Reporting Committee, respectively), the FASB anticipates that the NAC will provide an important discussion forum on critical issues and a key vehicle for hearing perspectives from the not-for-profit sector. In addition to providing focused input from the sector, the NAC is intended to help the Board and staff in communicating to the sector about recent and other existing guidance, current and proposed projects, and other issues of importance.

“The establishment of the NAC solidifies the FASB’s commitment to ensuring that the views of the not-for-profit sector are heard in the development of standards,” said Robert Herz, chairman of the FASB. “We anticipate that enhanced participation from not-for-profits will greatly assist the Board in understanding and appropriately considering the issues and needs of the sector, especially insofar as they differ from those of public and private business entities.”

Initially, the NAC will be comprised of 12–15 individuals from the not-for-profit sector, including not-for-profit financial report users, preparers, practitioners, and those with backgrounds in academia and law. Large and small not-for-profit organizations representing a wide spectrum of interests—including higher education, healthcare, public charities, and others—will be represented. The committee will be formed in early 2010 and its first meeting is projected to take place in the middle of 2010. The FASB anticipates the NAC will meet two or three times per year, with meetings made open to the public to the extent possible.

The FASB will begin seeking nominations for committee members in December. If you would like to participate in the nomination process, please contact Jeffrey D. Mechanick at jdmechanick@fasb.org or Alicia A. Posta at aaposta@fasb.org.

About the Financial Accounting Standards Board

Since 1973, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has been the designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting and reporting. Those standards govern the preparation of financial reports and are officially recognized as authoritative by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Such standards are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because investors, creditors, auditors, and others rely on credible, transparent, and comparable financial information. For more information about the FASB, visit our website at www.fasb.org.